Error -1 (15 posts)

willgabby Member

I have recently been unable to access an ftp site that I have been logging into for 3 years. Literally one minute it worked and the next it didn't. I know that site is functioning... I had another source try it and was able to access with no error. I checked my firewall settings. I have contacted my ISP (twice) and they insist that it isn't my connection. When I try to login to Fetch I get and ERROR -1.

Scott McGuire Administrator

Hi,

An error -1 from Fetch 4.0.3 indicates that Fetch cannot contact the server whose name you are entering in the Hostname field for some reason.

The possible causes of this are: there is something wrong with the server; a typo in the text you enter in the hostname field; something wrong with your local network (such as a problem with your router).

If you could tell us the hostname, we'll take a look and see if we can determine what the source of the problem might be and what you can do to resolve it.

willgabby Member

I received the same error - Error number -1.

I have tried 2 other sites and had no problem getting on to them. I had 2 other people attempt to access the ftp.ifai.com site from other computers (using different ISP's) and they were able to access the site.

Scott McGuire Administrator

Hi,

Yes, I was able to contact the site from my computer as well.

Could you download Fetch 5.3 from http://fetchsoftworks.com (you can try it free for 15 days and you can use it on the same computer as Fetch 4.0.3; you do not need to remove 4.0.3 to try it), connect to the problem server with it, and see what error message it gives when trying to connect to the site? It should give a more informative error message than Fetch 4.0.3 does.

Also, have you tried contacting the folks who run the server and ask them to look into the problem? They may have made some change that is preventing you from connecting (some servers can be set to reject user based on the address you are trying to connect to it from). The more detailed error message from Fetch 5.3 will probably be helpful if you contact them.

Scott McGuire Administrator

I'm sorry to hear the server people weren't helpful, and thanks for trying Fetch 5.

You can try doing the following; while this is pretty basic troubleshooting advice, there is a chance it will help solve the problem:

* Shut down your Mac.
* Unplug your router or wireless base station.
* Unplug your cable/DSL modem.
* Plug the cable/DSL modem back in, and wait about a minute for it to get completely started up.
* Then plug the router back in, and wait another minute for it.
* Finally, start your Mac.

willgabby Member

Scott McGuire Administrator

Hi,

Sorry to hear that.

If you want to post the transcript from Fetch 5, I'll take a look and see if we have any further suggestions.

To do this:

* Quit Fetch.
* Open Fetch again.
* Try to connect to your server.
* After you receive the error message, go to the Window menu, and choose Fetch Transcript.
* Copy the entire contents of the transcript window, and paste them into a reply to this message.

Scott McGuire Administrator

Hi,

You're welcome, and thanks for the transcript.

I've consulted with a colleague and he believes that most likely this is a problem with your ISP - that for some reason they are having trouble connecting to a small section of the Internet, that happens to include your server.

We'd like you to do some more tests to research that theory (and provide useful data that you can present to the ISP). These involve using the command line via the Terminal application.

Could you please try the following?

* Open the Applications folder.
* Open the Utilities folder.
* Open the Terminal application.
* At the prompt, type:

host ftp.ifai.com

What response do you get?

Next, type:

traceroute ftp.ifai.com

and wait; it may take this command several minutes to complete or error out (it took it nearly 6 minutes on my Mac). If the command seems to have stalled - no new output - for several minutes, you can cancel it by typing Control-C. (This command traces the path through the Internet from your Mac to the server.)

Please copy the output from this command and paste it in a reply to this message.

Scott McGuire Administrator

Hi,

Thanks for that information.

I was going to ask you to do some more tests, but now I cannot connect to the server either, and have not been able to for several hours; so there doesn't seem to be much point in you doing more tests when the server won't respond to anyone.

We can hope that when it starts working again, maybe it will work for you too. I'll follow up with you again once the server seems to be working again.